How Much Does Wood Figure Matter?

Having ordered a plain wood bass, I don't think the sound will be that drastically different but I would counsel that figured wood will make resale easier. People loved flamed wood. Sound wise the type of wood (maple vs. spruce vs. etc) will matter more than the figure.

 

Just my $.02, but I don't see paying a +/- 20% upcharge for highly flamed material over the plainest. It's pretty, but its hard to imagine recapturing that extra $700 at resale. Before buying, I'd take some time to research whether that extra money would put me into a better quality less-figured instrument rather than investing in cosmetics.

 

I would go with the one that sounds the best. If the 'custom fingerboard' is indeed a better piece of ebony than the ones on the other basses, that might be worth the extra money because it may be harder and more stable and could save you money down the road. I'm a sucker for wood with nice figure but I don't think I'd pay extra for it at this price point unless the bass has a better sound than the others. BTW is the top wood the same quality in all three basses? And do the individual tuners feel/seem much better than the plate tuners?

 

When commercial shops utilize their best wood, they generally also pay more attention to details like proper wood drying, graduation of plates, joint fitting and choice of fittings and accessories. If the highly figured model sounds as good or better than the plain model I would advise you to consider it. As mentioned above, it may also affect the resale a bit down the road. Good luck!

 

Your daughter needs the bass that plays to her voice. I recently went through a similar process with finding a Cello for my daughter. She tried about 8 instruments but only one sounded like her. She then tried a few bows and one really worked with her and the selected Cello. As if happened the wood on the back was nicely figured and it had a very thin French finish, but we did the tests without considering the look or price of the instruments she was trying out. In the end the Cello was about $3700 but sounded better than some closer to $5000. The bow was another $350.

 

In of itself, wood figure doesn't really make a difference. However, it definitely can look nice, and it will do more for the "value" since it looks nice - consider this if you think it's going to be resold. It costs more because finding big enough, highly figured pieces is somewhat of a rarity.

I don't care too much about a flamed back myself though. I mean, when I'm playing my bass, I don't exactly spend time looking at the back of it - plus the top of it is always on display. Sometimes plain unfigured wood looks great by itself too. Mine is, and I like it that way.

"At the same time, if the wood makes a real difference in the ability to keep, upgrade, or resell the instrument, I have to take that into account too."

Keeping: figured wood doesn't really require special care
Upgrading: not really
Resale: absolutely. If people are buying a bass to have for a long time, they want it to look "nice" and will shell out a bit more for flamed/quilted/curled/etc figures

 

If I could be so bold, you should listen to Mr. Schnitzer. You will not likely find anybody anywhere who knows more about basses than he does.

 

I have an issue paying extra for "diseased" wood, because someone thinks it looks cool.

It's like now having to pay more for chicken wings, cuz somebody spilled some hot sauce on one!

 

Arnold, i feel like i remember you telling me once that highly flamed wood was structurally not as inherently strong as more plainly figured wood. Does that sound like something you might have said? Or just my overactive imagination again?

 

I did indeed say that. Plain wood tends to be a bit stiffer. But is stiffer a good thing for bass register frequencies?

 

Various woods can be used.
With a slightly higher E, the same plate stiffness is achieved at a slightly lower thickness. If, wrt one vibration mode, the area is predominantly bending, the effect is negligible, if it is predominantly moving, the result is a slightly higher resonance frequency. In other words, tuning will depend on wood properties & can compensate for differences therein.

Edit/add: in no way does this negate what Arnold said earlier. It is a natural choice that the most beautiful woods get the most attention & are used in the first choice instruments. But well sounding instruments can also be made from plain looking woods.

 

Then by all means, don't. Your money, your choice.
Btw, 'diseased' may not be the most universally accepted description.

 

Totally agree!

 

Haven't you heard of "tone figuring"? It can make or break a bass! ;-)

 

Fungus, parasites, disease, rot, all the same to me. I would think the most pristine unfigured(other than the rings/grain) wood, would be the thing demanding the highest prices.

 

I'm gonna guess....no? Honestly, the only wood i know anything about are saxophone reeds

 

Carving and planing figured maple vs. plain is more exacting, too! More time honing and stropping the tools to avoid chip-out! Also bending highly flamed ribs can be more challenging, too. That plus the premium wood dealers charge for fine flamed wood over plain surely accounts for some of the price difference.

 

Supply and demand at work. Plain maple is common; highly flamed maple trees are one in several thousand, Flame is not a disease; it's a folding over (and back, and over, and back...) of the end grain that occurs in the growing of the tree for reasons that are not fully understood.

 

You're thinking of spalt, which is not the same thing at all as the wavy or curly appearance acquired by good healthy hardwood that has been subjected to varying mineral levels in the soil during the tree's lifespan.

Spalt is rot, and I think it's ugly as sin. Leave it to the slab guys...